winXP wont let go of external HD

[lamere]

i have a hard drive in a HD storage box hooked up via USB and whenever i want to shut it down, i use the "safely remove hardware" icon in the taskbar but i always get the " device cannot be stopped right now. try stopping the device again later" BS

anyone know of a way to get the PC to give up the drive so i can shut the HD down?

really irritating
sometimes i try for so long i say screw it and reboot the damn PC

 

[Jiggz]

This situation occurs if there are still open files read from the usb disk like database or programs. Ensure these are close and it should let you safely remove the usb disk. If there are no open files, then try disconnecting the device even without the safely remove prompt, for if there are any files open it will prompt you to plug in the device again.